February 22, 2023 |
When a brand reaches beyond fashion into the culture, that’s when you know it has power. For LVMH Prize winner S.S.Daley, it first happened when Harry Styles wore his graduate collection in his “Golden” music video which put him on the radar of fashion and pop culture watchers alike, and it happened again at London Fashion Week, when Sir Ian McKellen offered to be in his show. The designer had been contemplating a move away from theatrics – his previous shows have been in collaboration with the National Youth Theatre. But how can you say no to Sir Ian?
The great thespian opened the show, reciting lines from Tennyson’s The Coming of Arthur, about great storms and turbulent seas, in a moment that must be a highlight of the week. It set the scene for a collection that referenced seafarers and queer culture (Fassbinder’s Querelle made its presence felt). Pea coats and wide trousers interspersed with bedazzled underpants and paintings of full-frontal male nudes on ties and flowing dresses. Knits were unraveled to crop tops, fruit prints adorned cotton shirts and shorts, sequins appeared in unexpected places (on a louche tie or pair of shorts). Sensitive, sensual and romantic, the Liverpudlian designer’s work thrills with culture.
Photography by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
